Key advantages of calculating chargeable weight

Tips to optimise your air freight costs using chargeable weight

Here are some steps you can take to reduce air freight costs and maximise efficiency:

• Use efficient packaging: Avoid oversized boxes that increase volumetric weight. Custom-fit or collapsible packaging can help minimize charges.
• Consolidate shipments: Combining multiple small shipments into a single larger shipment reduces wasted space and lowers costs.
• Choose carrier using industry standard divisor: Avoid extra costs by checking that your carrier applies the divisor of 6,000 recommended by IATA.
• Leverage technology: Many logistics providers offer digital tools that automatically calculate and compare chargeable weights before booking.

Calculating the volumetric weight of air cargo and comparing this to its actual weight to identify the applicable chargeable weight provides a range of advantages:

• Ensures aircraft safety and efficiency: Airlines have strict weight and space limitations for safety. Calculating volumetric weight ensures cargo is evenly distributed, preventing underloading (wasting space) or overloading (exceeding limits).
• Promotes fair pricing: Chargeable weight calculation ensures businesses pay based on the actual space their cargo occupies rather than just its physical weight.
• Improves cost predictability: Using a standard formula helps businesses anticipate shipping costs, reducing unexpected charges.
• Minimizes human error: Manual miscalculations can lead to incorrect pricing, causing businesses to overpay or underpay for shipments. Proper volumetric weight calculation prevents such issues.
• Optimises cargo space utilisation: Accurate calculation prevents wasted space, ensuring that aircraft capacity is used efficiently and keeping logistics costs manageable.
• Enhances supply chain transparency: Businesses that accurately calculate chargeable weight gain better cost visibility and can budget more effectively.
• Reduces processing time: Technology such as digital scales and dimensional scanners automates calculations, speeding up cargo check-in and reducing delays.
• Enables real-time adjustments: Advanced systems integrate with scanners to compare chargeable weights instantly, allowing for quick adjustments before finalising shipments.
• Supports seamless international shipping: As global supply chains grow more complex, precise weight measurement ensures cost-efficient and hassle-free freight movement.